Verizon To Up 4G Battle With 'Fastest, Most Advanced' Network Launch On Dec. 5

From smartphones to tablets, Wi-Fi to 3G/4G: I cover telecom & mobile.

The nation’s largest wireless network is about to get a lot faster.

Verizon Wireless revealed Wednesday that it will turn on its fourth-generation (4G) network on Dec. 5. The new network will be up to 10 times faster than the company’s current third-generation (3G) network, said Verizon’s Chief Technology Officer, Tony Melone, in a call with reporters. That means downlink speeds of five to 12 megabytes and uplink speeds of two to five megabytes—a rate that Melone compared to shrinking a 14-hour plane flight to 80 minutes.

Data plans for the new technology, known as LTE, will start at $50 for 5 gigabytes per month and scale up to $80 for 10 gigabytes. At launch, only two USB modems for computers ($100 each, from LG and Pantech) will be available, but Verizon says other devices, including compatible smartphones, will be unveiled in January at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) and be available in mid-2011.

The initial rollout will span 38 metropolitan areas and 62 airports, including major cities such as Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco and Washington, DC. That is equivalent to more than 130 million Americans or about one-third of the U.S. population. The largest area of coverage will be southern California, where Verizon will support approximately 20 million people in the Los Angeles/San Diego area. The build-out will continue through 2013, at which point the company expects to complete upgrading its 3G network to 4G, said Melone.

The launch is Verizon’s bid to stay at the forefront of the wireless industry, which is rapidly moving to 4G technology. The company is branding its LTE network as the “fastest and most advanced 4G network” in the U.S.—a claim that will likely draw protests from other carriers, which have been using similar terms for their own networks.

During the call, Melone stressed Verizon’s leadership as the first large U.S. carrier to deploy LTE. He repeatedly called the announcement a “big deal” and described the new network as the “launching pad for the future of mobile broadband for the next 10 years.” He also noted that Verizon is building the network on high-quality, 700 megahertz spectrum it purchased in a Federal Communications Commission (FCC) auction in 2008. Other U.S. carriers have been forced to leverage less efficient spectrum for their network upgrades.

While Melone did not mention competitor Sprint Nextel by name, many of his remarks seemed to reference Sprint’s early deployment of a rival 4G standard called WiMax. “Not all 4G is the same,” said Melone. Verizon, he added, expects to “drive” 4G much the way it has popularized Google’s Android operating system through its Droid phone series over the past year.

“Android really took off when Verizon backed it,” said Melone. “We think it will be the same with LTE, given Verizon’s scale…Verizon will make the difference and kick-start this next generation of mobile broadband.”

At the same time, Melone hinted that the company’s marketing will not call out other carriers’ networks. “Customers are savvy; they will understand the difference [between 4G networks],” said Melone. “To try to combat [rivals’ 4G marketing] would be a waste of effort on our part.”

Nor was Melone concerned about the general confusion surrounding the definition of 4G and the fact that the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), the Geneva-based United Nations agency that regulates telecom standards, recently said Verizon’s version of LTE did not qualify as true 4G. “This is a quantum, generational step up,” said Melone. “Whether you call [the technology] 4G or something else is not relevant.”

What do you think of Verizon's LTE plan? How does it compare to other U.S. carriers' strategies? Let me know in the comments below.